


Missive From Halfway Through "Seeing It"

by ConvenientAlias



Category: Shades of Magic - V. E. Schwab
Genre: Epistolary, Gen, Light Angst, Post-Canon, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-07
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2019-03-01 10:41:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13293108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConvenientAlias/pseuds/ConvenientAlias
Summary: Rhy receives a letter from Kell, who is visiting the capital of the Veskan Empire.





	Missive From Halfway Through "Seeing It"

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MercyBuckets](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MercyBuckets/gifts).



Dear Rhy,

As you desired, I have finally made my visit to the royal family of Vesk. They have been hospitable. Cora seems to have been the most ambitious among the sisters, as none of them have tried to court me. They are all very polite and they sincerely wish you the best on your rule. The sights have been impressive as well. Architecture here is more extravagant—larger blocks of stone, huge columns of marble. In some ways it reminds me of White London in its starkness. Yet, the people here seem to flourish, after their own way.

The king and queen of Vesk have told me they admire your head in a crisis. They say you handled our “situation” well, but they did not dwell on the matter. They praised your Essen Tach—or what they have heard secondhand about the Essen Tach—at great length, and said you chose well to take such a champion, such a skilled mage, as your consort. I did not contradict them though I can only imagine it was a little tongue in cheek. They don’t have much respect for privateers or sailors out here and so Lila has been on edge. But I have been received as a member of House Maresh, and Lila as suits my companion—though that distinction might have her more up in arms than anything else.

Although the royal family has given me limited information about what they plan to do with their Essen Tach in a year or so, I can only imagine it will be grand. I may be persuaded to come back and attend—though I do not think either Stasion Elsor or Kamerov Loste shall be competing.

(Speaking of which, Lila is rather curious: Have we heard anything from Stasion Elsor? She expects him to crop up all over the place, though I believe she might be paranoid.)

If I know you, you’re smirking every time I mention Lila. Well, she’s been behaving herself, and so have I. And we’re getting along fairly well for such a long voyage—I believe Alucard predicted she would murder me by now, but as you can see this has not occurred.

I expect to stay in Vesk for a while longer still. The capital being in the center of the empire, I have yet to travel to the other side of it. And there are certain ports I intend to visit.

No news from the grey and white worlds, by the way—though since I have not visited their Londons, I would not know how our closest neighbors fare in any case. This I can tell you—I visited the White world and at least the Veskan section of it seems to be thriving. Who can say how it looked before? Perhaps it was so even in the time of the Danes. I might be optimistic to think any fruit of Osaron could be other than poisonous. Yet, it was Holland’s last wish that his world might recover. He would call me a fool for hoping it might be true.

Pray be patient with me. I will return in due time, and I will have many stories.

Anoshe,

Kell Maresh

* * *

 

Rhy sighed over the heavily censored letter. Certainly Kell rarely admitted he had gotten into any trouble or even into fights with Lila, but this one was even sparser than usual. It had to be because he was visiting the Veskan court—a pit of vipers, as they both knew, and Kell had nothing but praise for it here. Someone was reading Kell’s letters and Kell was letting them. Rhy could only hope that meant there would be another, less censored letter in a few days, and that this was only a feint meant to throw off anyone trying to snoop.

Still, it was very dissatisfactory. For one thing, Kell hadn’t even insulted Alucard that badly in this letter, probably out of a desire not to show any discord among the upper echelons of Arnesian loyalty, not to give the Veskans any ammunition against them. But there were other, more important things this letter omitted as well. This letter would have been sent about three months ago. Four months ago, Rhy had been sick for two days with cramps and pains not his own, so sick he had not been able to leave his bed and Alucard had worried Kell might even die. And a little after that he had felt a stabbing pain in his left side, which had continued to hurt for an hour before fading away. Rhy knew a knife wound when he felt one, even if it was soon healed, and he highly suspected the other incident had been poison.

But of course Kell couldn’t mention such matters to anyone reading his mail. Rhy wouldn’t have been able to help anyhow, from this distance. But he would have liked to know.

Lila would take care of him, Master Tieren would have said. And she would. But it ought to have been Rhy’s job. Not that Rhy had ever been very good about taking care of Kell, and these days with a kingdom he had enough people to take care of, but still.

“Anoshe,” Rhy muttered. Due time? And when would that be. When Kell had “seen it.” What it? “Everything.” And it had already been two years.

He sighed. Folded the letter back up and placed it back in its envelope. And put it with a stack of other envelopes—tens of them already, for Kell was a dutiful brother and subject. He never forgot to write, even if his letters were often void of detail. And Rhy could feel his brother through every one of them. That they were reserved only made them that much more like Kell.

Everything. It would most likely be years yet. But perhaps when Kell returned he would be less restless, more able to stay in one place having seen what he had set out to see. And perhaps at last he would take up his place as a prince—a place with his king. Rhy would not demand it of him, nor even ask. But at least in this letter he had spoken of returning, which he had begun to do more often. At first he had never mentioned his eventual return at all.

Yes, it was a good sign.

Rhy picked up a pin and gently pricked himself in the skin between his thumb and forefinger. When he withdrew the needle the skin smoothed itself back together in an instant, leaving only a single drop of blood. A few minutes he felt an echoing pain in his untouched other hand, which also swiftly faded. That was the signal they’d set up—now Kell knew that he’d gotten the letter, and Rhy knew that he knew, and all was well.

And that would be it until either Kell received the last letter Rhy sent, or Rhy got another (hopefully more genuine) letter from Kell. Rhy hoped that would be soon.

**Author's Note:**

> I felt bad about my Yuletide fic because while it did star Kell and Rhy it did not really fill the prompt of post-ACOL fic. But now, having finally finished reading ACOL, I felt I could fill that prompt a bit better. Though tbh I feel kind of bad for Rhy, being without Kell for so long. But ya know, Kell will be back. It'll all be fine. Probably.


End file.
